Since becoming teen heartthrobs and overnight A-listers with The Twilight Saga, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have had the same problem: a lack of success with their film projects outside of Summit Entertainment’s blockbuster vampire franchise. It’s not for a lack of trying; each has been busy asserting themselves to find the best path to take their careers in. The results range from middling to disastrous (I’m looking at you, The Runaways, Abduction and Remember Me).
Now, as the first part of the final chapter in the storybook film series hits theaters, the question must be asked: where do they go from here? It’s pretty obvious that the roles they’ve chosen to take in between Twilight installments haven’t worked to their advantage, so I’ve got a few professional suggestions for each.
Taylor Lautner
From the moment he first exposed his abs to the masses in New Moon, Lautner sealed his fate as a token action star of his generation. With an agreeable personality, a winning smile and muscles to spare, he’s got all the tools needed to carry a big-budget blockbuster or a franchise of his own. And if you’ve been following his activity in Tinsel Town like I have, you know that’s just what he intends to do.
Where he’s headed: Summer movie madness. Lautner’s biceps seem to have a magnetic quality, one that attracts the kind of script that calls for lots of CGI, stunts and special effects. He’s taken his star power and physical prowess to the bank since 2009, signing on for a series of action flicks that haven’t yet gotten a green light including Universal’s Hasbro adaptation Stretch Armstrong, Fox’s young-adult fantasy film Incarceron and an untitled actioner to be produced by Michael Bay. The only movie he’s actually released outside of The Twilight Saga was Lionsgate’s fall offering Abduction, which fizzled out at around $28 million.
What he should do: Comedy, because the above statement is only half true: Lautner had a small role in Garry Marshall’s sleeper hit Valentine’s Day early in 2010, and I think that he should expand on that minor appearance and take up the lucrative business of rom-coms. He’s already got a rabid fan-base of young females (the most reliable consumers of the genre) and the good looks to share the screen with some of Hollywood’s leading ladies. While he waits for a start date on one of those expensive tent poles, he might as well squeeze in a harmless chick flick to mix things up a bit.
Kristen Stewart
In spite of the naysayers, I strongly believe that Kristen Stewart is the brightest star of the three Twilight kids. She’s easily the most accomplished, and sports the most extensive resume, which includes work with top-tier talent like Jodie Foster, David Fincher, Jon Favreau, Barry Levinson, James Gandolfini and others. But being the most sought after actress under 25 comes with a lot of pressure, and she’ll need to walk a fine line to between movie star and prestigious performer if she wants to achieve the level of notoriety that I think she’s seeking.
Where she’s headed: The Academy Awards, because she already is walking that fine line. Even though she’s secured box office dominance next year with two surefire blockbusters (Breaking Dawn Part 2, Snow White and the Huntsman), she’s also making sure to keep award-worthy films on her plate. 2012 will see Walter Salles long-gestating On the Road adaptation, in which she plays the iconic Marylou, finally hit theaters, and that role fits nicely into her indie catalog that already includes Undertow and The Yellow Handkerchief. And apart from Snow White, what’s on the horizon looks more and more like prize-winning material, including a film with oft-Oscar nominated Julianne Moore and a G.I. Jane-like role in a film to be directed by James Woods.
What she should do: Exactly what she already is doing. Balance is key in Hollywood; just look at Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not a particularly talented guy, but he bounced back and forth between comedy and action and had one of the most profitable careers in film history for 20 years. If Stewart can switch from high-caliber roles in movies like On the Road to all-out blockbusters like Snow White and Akira (which she’s rumored to be joining), there’s no stopping her.
Robert Pattinson
Call me crazy, but I equate Pattinson’s role in the Twilight series to that of Leonardo DiCaprio’s in Titanic. Both are severely romantic parts with little to no appeal to males and neither allow(ed) their actors to fully display their range. However, Leo went on to better, if not always bigger, things and I expect the same from RPattz.
Where he’s headed: Art-house aristocracy, because when he’s not glimmering as Edward Cullen he’s flexing his thespian muscles under the tutelage of filmmakers like Emmy-nominated Allen Coulter and the legendary David Cronenberg, while honing his craft alongside Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz. It seems as though the bigger the Twilight Saga gets, the smaller the side-project the 25-year old actor takes on, but that may not be the wisest choice.
What he should do: An action movie or two, and why not? All the kids are doing it, and nothing gets you more exposure these days than a $200 million tent pole. I’m not saying he should take notes from Lautner; as previously stated, balance is the key. But as of now it’s been all heavy drama for Pattinson, and those kinds of movies are being made less and less in this day and age. From what I understand he’s been offered leads in a few action flicks over the last year or so, and it’d be in his best interest to take one in the near future.

Sometimes, the story behind a story is more interesting than the story itself.
Truman Capote is a revered name in the modern history of American literature, whose classics include Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood. The writer's life and work were celebrated in the 2005 biopic Capote, which starred Philip Seymour Hoffman. One piece of Capote's work has long been attached to a special air of intrigue: his first novel, Summer Crossing, which went unpublished until 2005, over two decades after the author's death. The novel is now being adapted into a film, and some of the most interesting aspects of this new development surround the evasive source material as well as the director assigned to the project: Scarlett Johansson.
Johansson has established herself as a major screen presence since beginning her acting career in the mid-1990s. She has worked with a wide variety of directors who far exceed "noteworthy": Woody Allen, Michael Bay, Sofia Coppola, Brian De Palma, Jon Favreau, Christopher Nolan, Robert Redford, and will work under Cameron Crowe in the upcoming We Bought a Zoo. So, perhaps she picked up a thing or two along the way from this cavalcade of filmmakers. At the very least, she picked up the itch.
Summer Crossing will be an interesting debut project for Johansson. The plot revolves around the daughter of an elite socialite Protestant couple who, when left on her own in New York City for the summer, begins dating a working-class Jewish man.
Source: Variety

After decades of undergoing slanderous brutalities, being branded with tasteless monikers like "the idiot box," television is finally, albeit gradually, getting the credit it deserves. We've recently seen film directors like Martin Scorsese and Gus Van Sant donate their talents to TV series (Boardwalk Empire and Boss, respectively). And now, we'll be welcoming another familiar big screen helmer to our world: Jon Favreau.
Favreau, director of Made, Elf, the Iron Man movies and Cowboys &amp; Aliens, is working on two projects for television at the moment. The first is a comedy series for CBS called Tweaked, about single parents re-entering the dating world—Favreau wrote the pilot script. The second is a sci-fi dramedy for ABC called Ex-Comm, which will team a newly elected president with a secret group of executive men in black-types to explore and uproot different "conspiracy theory truths." Favreau will produce and possibly direct this series.
But why this sudden shift in attention toward TV? Because, thanks to series on networks like AMC, HBO and Showtime, people are finally starting to realize just how much can be done with television.
TV is an art form like no other, because it is the only art form that is inherently non-static. When you create a film, that film is, largely, a self-contained entity, as are its characters and themes. But the nature of TV commands its characters, themes and stories to change and grow. This, plus the extensive amount of time invested in a series (people dedicate ten years of their lives to certain shows—in some cases, a TV show might be the only thing kept constant in one's life from one end of a decade to the other) make for a more engrossing and meaningful experience.
Although Cowboys &amp; Aliens was in large part a letdown, Favreau gave us some terrific movies over the years. We should look forward to what he intends to do with each series.
Source: AV Club

Batten down the hatches, it's going to be a rocky weekend. As the East Coast prepares for the wrath of Hurricane Irene, celebrities from all over the world are voicing their concern and sending their love to those who will come head-to-head with this indestructible force of nature. Now I'm hoping that all the nervous hype ends up being nothing but a little rainfall (at least that's what I'm telling my worried parents), but it's nice to know that some Hollywood stars are thinking of us in our time of need -- even if they are nice and dry over there on the West Coast. It's the thought that counts right? Check out the A-list tweets below and see which celebs were kind enough to keep East Coasters in their thoughts. Some of them are even kinda funny:
Kim Kardashian tweets: I hope everyone on the East Coast is safe! I heard the weather is crazy!
Josh Duhamel tweets: My heart goes out to everyone affected by #HurricaneIrene. Praying for your safety.
Lala tweets: Just landed in NYC..haven't been here in weeks and I just happen to come when the hurricane is rolling thru..YIKES! #prayingfortheeastcoast
Kirstie Alley tweets: If you find the need to evacuate for the impending Irene..PLEASE take your pets.......and of course your kids....LEAVE bad lovers behind..;)
Goldie Hawn tweets: Thinking of you all who are weathering the hurricane on the east coast! Take good care
Denise Richards tweets: Praying everyone on the east coast stays safe...
Jon Favreau tweets: To all the coastal dwellers back East, stay safe.
Elizabeth Banks tweets: Everybody in the hurricane, be safe. Everybody else, let your worry about the hurricane fade away while seeing #OurIdiotBrother tonight!
Alright, the last one was totally self promotion, but we appreciate the shout-out anyways. To reiterate what Hollywood's finest are trying to say -- everyone stay safe this weekend and hope for the best! Check the Zone Map here.
Click on the image below for more photos of Kim Kardashian!
Source: Celebuzz

The best roller-coaster ride this summer wasn't in a theme park, it was at the multiplex, as the box office grosses did more bobbing and weaving than the stock market on a bad day.
Superheroes, sequels, special effects extravaganzas, R-rated comedies, family films, animated films, horror films and more than the usual number of original films made this an unpredictable summer at best. Thrown into this miasma of movie mania was a record 18 3-D films and a consumer push back to both the technology and the higher ticket price associated with the three dimensional movie-going experience. When the dust settles at the end of Labor Day weekend, Hollywood.com projects record summer revenues of $4.4 to $4.5 billion as another one goes in the books and we are left to ponder the summer of 2012.
Lesson #1: R-rated comedies are the new “go to” genre for the summer—and the raunchier the better. Universal’s Bridesmaids caught the bouquet and ran with it as the film built an audience while generating great word-of-mouth week after week and wound up with nearly $170 million in domestic revenues. Warner Bros. The Hangover Part II ($254.1M) and Horrible Bosses ($112.6M), Sony’s Bad Teacher ($98.1M) and Friends with Benefits ($54.7M) were all solid performers with budgets that made them a studio executives dream come true. In all there were seven such films with five that performed well at the box office. In Hollywood, five for seven is a stellar showing for any genre.
Lesson #2: Superheroes are not invincible: You can’t just slap a cape on some hulking dude, give him some super powers and expect the audience to show up. You have to earn the audience’s respect and the first film out of the gate did that as Paramount’s Thor won over audiences with a solid performance from Chris Hemsworth, a dash of Anthony Hopkins and a sprinkling of Natalie Portman which is never a bad thing. The movie delivered and was rewarded with a domestic tally of over $180 million and grudging respect from skeptical fan boys. Fox’s X-Men: First Class also garnered accolades and respect as Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn did a terrific job of coalescing the excellent ensemble cast into a solid package that delivered on the promise of a great marketing campaign. Paramount proved to be very consistent with their superheroes as late July’s Captain America debuted with $65 million (only about $700k less than Thor) and also engendered a level of respect from community and has pulled in nearly $165 million to date in North America. Unfortunately not all of the films from the genre are able to benefit from the mere label of superhero film as Warner Bros. Green Lantern took some major heat from the critics and though it opened with a respectable $53.2 million was unable to gain much traction as the naysayers piled on the negative bandwagon and slowed the film to a total gross of close to $116 million.
Lesson #3: The audience is as fickle as a 16 year old Twilight fan. Give ‘em Cowboys &amp; Aliens and they want Smurfs, give them Super 8 and they are like, “What does Super 8 mean?” Place two of the biggest movie stars in the world in a movie and Larry Crowne starring Tom Hanks AND Julia Roberts opens in fourth place and makes just $35.6 million in total North American revenue. Conversely who knew audiences would go ape for Rise of the Planet of the Apes and give it a $54.8 million opening weekend that was a whopping $20 million over the weekend projections!
Lesson #4: Woody Allen is the new (and most unlikely) King of the Summer Blockbuster season: Three words – Midnight in Paris.
Lesson #5: You pretty much need a big franchise with a major brand name to pull in families and kids. From Kung Fu Panda 2 to Cars 2 to Harry Potter to The Smurfs, it helps if little Johnny and Susie have already seen the first installment of a major franchise and then they will drag the parental units to the theater.
Lesson #6: The jury is still out on 3-D. It’s a price point thing combined with a honeymoon phase that ran out long ago. The novelty aspect of 3-D was fueling huge ticket sales during the Avatar era and the afterglow was sweet with Alice in Wonderland also posting massive 3-D percentages. But as with all relationships, some rocky times have befallen the third dimension of moviedom and the results are manifest in a rapidly dropping percentage (on a film by film basis) of the revenues that are generated by the up-charge associated with the immersive movie experience.
On average we have seen percentages drop below 50% on many of the 3-D releases. Of course, give people a tremendous 3-D experience and they will not complain as evidenced by Paramount’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon which pulled a solid 60% of its gross from 3-D presentations and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 which delivered a great movie and a terrific 3-D experience. Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides put a fine point on the fact that overseas audiences are currently enamored with 3-D they way Americans were a couple of years ago. The film became a billion dollar blockbuster on the back of a 3-D powered international gross that is over three times bigger than the domestic total. The pre-summer megahit Fast Five is a great example of a film that did not need 3-D to be a hit. That movie was plenty immersive enough in IMAX and delivered arguably the best popcorn-style summer movie experience of any film not technically released in the summer. Last weekend three 3-D films were released and the result was one of the lowest grossing weekends of the year.
The bottom line: 3-D is not a panacea, but rather a technology that should be used judiciously and only with the right kind of movie and at a price point that makes sense to the consumer.
Lesson #7: If you want your film to be a blockbuster, release it in IMAX. 3-D may come and go, but IMAX is forever. From the pre-summer hit Fast Five to the top two grossing films of the summer (Harry Potter 7B and Transformers 3), audiences love the immersive movie-going experience and seem willing to pay for it without complaint. An average of 10% (and growing) of opening weekend gross is generated by IMAX so it’s a win-win for the studios and exhibitors, as well as fans looking for a truly superior experience. On top of that, a veritable who’s who of filmmakers insist upon it (and who are we to argue with Christopher Nolan!).
Lesson #8: Audiences say they want original films, but in actuality are scared of them. Even Bridesmaids took awhile to build an audience (after a second place debut with $26.2M) as petrified males determined not to be dragged kicking and screaming to another ungodly chick flick heard through the grapevine that this was a female comedy with some real balls and then showed up. The Hangover Part II however already had huge built-in brand recognition and posted the biggest comedy opening of all-time with a staggering $85.9 million. Super 8 whose title, lack of big stars and no box office track record gave it a somewhat slow start given the film’s pedigree; luckily quality won out and the film built an audience and took in over $125 million in North America. Another case in point is the unique and original Cowboys &amp; Aliens (a descriptive title, but an unknown commodity) that went head to head with a little blue man group called The Smurfs. The industry watched in awe as familiarity turned into green as gazillions of kids gave their little blue buddies the power to take on the Spielberg, Favreau, Ford, Craig quadruple threat and wound up in an unthinkable and unprecedented Sunday morning tie for first place.
Lesson #9: The Help proves that any movie can be a summer movie. Like Midnight in Paris, the intimate period character study won over the audience by presenting a sort of “anti-blockbuster” as an alternative or antidote to the monstrous big budget behemoths that permeate the cinematic landscape during the summer months. Both felt like fall season films and this became their strength as the allure of an unexpected and ultimately fulfilling movie-going experience grabbed a significant audience regardless of the temperature outside.

Summer-movie season is built on expectations and excitement, both from escapism-seeking fans and money-seeking studios. But like just about everything else, there’s no guarantee that all will go according to plan: For moviegoers, Cowboys &amp; Aliens might not turn out to be the Next Great Superblockbuster, which seemed like a foregone conclusion at one point. Let’s take a look at the most highly anticipated movies during the run-up to summer 2011 and how they actually turned out, as well as some blockbusters that had lower expectations going in.
Thor
Anticipation: It’ll be sufficient, not great; an appetizer to other superhero movies’ midsummer entrees – with a smidge of doubt about whether Kenneth Branagh, heretofore best known for Shakespeare adaptations, is the right choice to bring one of Marvel’s most beloved characters to the big screen. And who’s this Hemsworth guy?
Reality: Better than our wildest dreams. Branagh enabled Thor to be tense, tight – but he also prevented it from being tightly wound or too tense; this was not a typical Branagh production, and that’s a good thing. Hemsworth, too, did a fine job in the title role, proving that a relative unknown can be good for a high-profile role. The movie earned a somewhat ho-hum (by summer-expectations standards) $448 million in box office around the world, but that’ll go higher with the subsequent Thor entries.
Bridesmaids
Anticipation: An off weekend. A comedic bridge between tentpole releases. A chick-flick Knocked Up tolerable for dudes – although the much-talked-about “bathroom scene” might detract from that a bit.
Reality: The comedy of the year. Written by chicks and about chicks, featuring an almost all-chick cast, but make no mistake: This was no chick flick. This was fresh R-rated comedy with a fresh voice, and it made a lot of people laugh – and rich.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Anticipation: Why, Johnny, why? Don’t you already own enough islands? We still love you, though!
Reality: No surprises whatsoever in this cash-grab. Possibly better than the previous two Pirates flicks, but nowhere near Curse of the Black Pearl in any way – except moneywise (it’s the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time), which is why there’s no end in sight for this franchise.
The Hangover Part II
Anticipation: The first one was impossible to replicate – and not because it was that amazing – but, of course, here we go again. And, man, does the trailer look bad.
Reality: It made a ton of money, especially internationally (hat-tip to Todd Phillips for setting it outside the U.S.), so there’s that, but can anyone really say this wasn’t a huge step back? Gone was the element of surprise – we know the Galifianakis shtick by now, since he’s cinematically ubiquitous; ditto Ken Jeong – and in its place was lackluster, forced hijinks courtesy of Phillips and Co. in a sequel that just wasn’t meant to be, unless you had a financial stake in the franchise.
X-Men: First Class
Anticipation: Marvel fatigue hasn’t yet set in, and this prequel – at least judging by the trailer – looks like an exciting, quasi-fresh restart. Plus, the studio went the “good actor” route over the “big-name” route. Wise choice, probably.
Reality: Superb acting from non-household names McAvoy and Fassbender and directing from Matthew Vaughn breathed new life into this franchise – in the form of gravity and more serious overtones. Box office ($350 million worldwide) was adequate but not superb.
Super 8
Anticipation: The next E.T.! It’s got the best, most buzz-building prerelease campaign of any summer movie – not to mention Steven Spielberg as an exec producer and the next Spielberg behind the camera. It can’t fail!
Reality: Meh. Perhaps the buzz was too high, perhaps we were all a little more fatigued from the NBA Finals than expected – and we didn’t even play! – but J.J. Abrams’ unabashed homage to Spielberg didn’t quite deliver on its hype. Box office returns, even on a “shoestring budget” of $50 million, weren’t great, and the movie itself, while undeniably exciting and fun at times, was ultimately a bit of a style-over-substance letdown. An ever-so-slight disappointment from the not-quite-next Spielberg.
Green Lantern
Anticipation: This’ll finally be Ryan Reynolds’ long-deserved breakout, catapulting him to the A-list and movie-franchise roles and … [trailer finishes buffering] that cost $200 million to make?? Yikes.
Reality: Reynolds’ ascension probably remains on track, but Lantern was a relative calamity. The movie was a mess, from the disappointing special effects to the non-chemistry to the “Are you kidding me?” storyline(s) – and the box office was even uglier: The movie couldn’t even recoup its budget, which rarely happens for summer movies, even if it means a studio bigwig has to buy millions of dollars in tickets to prevent such a financial travesty.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Anticipation: Oh, right – this franchise still exists. Looks like more of the same: Michael Bayness, minus the shock and awe of the first movie’s groundbreaking effects. Minus Megan Fox, too.
Reality: The most surprising adequacy of the summer. The merciless barrage of effects was par for the course and, unlike the previous Transformers entry, decent enough new-fashioned fun, even with another overlong run time. Also unlike its predecessor? It crossed the $1 billion mark at the (worldwide) box office and wound up in the all-time No. 5 spot.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Anticipation: No Potter finale will please us all (unless J.K. Rowling pops up at the end and says, “Psych! There’ll be one more movie!), but just … blow us away like never before, David Yates.
Reality: Actually, it did pretty much seem to please us all – to the tune of over $1.2 billion grossed worldwide, good enough for third best, ever. And director Yates turned in the steadiest, best, and probably most-faithful-to-the-book Potter flick of the entire franchise. It’s safe to say that the highest expectations of the year were surpassed with Part 2. Satisfying, in every way.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Anticipation: Typically, the worst superhero movie of the summer is saved for last. And Joe Johnston (The Wolfman) does anything but inspire confidence. But hey – never know…
Reality: Not bad. Perhaps aided by the somewhat lukewarm anticipation (and the surprisingly solid reviews), the movie was good popcorn fun, nothing more but certainly nothing less. Chris Evans earned his spot in the Marvel universe, and Johnston deserves credit for helping the movie outgross some of the bigger titles heading into the summer season. Speaking of Cowboys &amp; Aliens…
Cowboys &amp; Aliens
Anticipation: Indiana Jones and James Bond? A brilliant genre-mash concept? Jon Favreau directing? Another movie that just cannot fail!
Reality: Surprise of the Season (Bad Version). Cowboys &amp; Aliens might not quite be remembered as this summer’s Jonah Hex, but, well, it likely won’t be remembered, period. For such an original idea, the execution and end results felt as stale as any token blockbuster wannabe: aimless action, gratuitous explosions, crazy noise for no good reason and altogether ‘WTF?!’-ness. And those box office earnings? Let’s just say that even though the tally will not be finalized for a while, it’ll probably come in at about 10 percent of what the studio was hoping for – and there’s a good chance it won’t even make its money back with worldwide gross factored in.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Anticipation: Before the trailer, almost no expectations. After the trailer – with what looked retro-CGI apes! – almost no positive expectations.
Reality: Surprise of the Season (Good Version). James Franco was innocuous, and the movie, whose trailer resembled a last-gen video game, turned out to be well-done summer fun. It’s already a box office success, with much more money still to come, and probably a sequel or two.

The British actor heads up the new sci-fi Western, which has already earned more than $92 million (£57.5 million) at the box office since its release last month (Jul11).
Despite the rise in 3D films hitting cinemas in recent years, director Jon Favreau decided against using the technique - and Craig is sure it's benefited the blockbuster.
He tells BBC's Newsbeat, "It was a very deliberate decision and I'm glad we didn't (use 3D). We'd still be shooting it apart from anything else. Classic westerns are 2D... so you can stretch the image right across the screen and it looks like it should do.
"I think 3D works in animation and it gives me a headache to tell you the truth, I'm not a big fan of it. Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned.
"When you watch a 3D live action movie you're forced to look at parts of the screen which you might not necessarily want to look at, but you have to because that's where the focus is. With 2D you get a much richer feeling and can look where you want basically. The whole thing with wearing the glasses is a bit silly."

The actor was handed the Golden Leopard for lifetime achievement at the event, which hosted the European premiere of his latest movie Cowboys &amp; Aliens.
A stunned Ford told the crowd of 7,000, "I'm very grateful for this. It reminds me of my enormous luck in my career to work with so many talented directors, actors, crew, writers, producers. And I appreciate the fact that I still have the opportunity from time to time to make movies."
Organisers spared no expense in getting Ford to the bash - he took a helicopter along with his director Jon Favreau and co-stars Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde, according to Variety.com.

Twentieth Century Fox’s latest re-boot of The Planet of the Apes franchise is neither a sequel nor a prequel but it does have the built in brand recognition from the original series of films spawned from the 1968 sci-fi classic starring Charlton Heston. Rise of the Planet of the Apes featuring James Franco is a fresh interpretation of the original series of films and has no connection to Fox’s 2001 Planet of the Apes re-boot which starred Mark Wahlberg. There was no monkeying around with these apes as they climbed to the top of the chart with a much bigger-than-expected $54 million this weekend. The film was also a hit internationally earning $23.4 million in just 25 markets and took first place in 9 of 11 markets (where rankings are available). The film expands in 15 new markets next weekend.
Sony Pictures Animation’s The Smurfs in 3-D nearly made some cantankerous cowboys very blue last weekend when they rustled up an unexpected tie for first place with Cowboys &amp; Aliens. When the dust settled the little blue dudes landed in a close second place finish for the weekend, but led the midweek box office race and now have a higher North American gross than their high profile competitor. A very strong 41% second weekend hold gives the film $21 million for Friday through Sunday and a domestic gross of over $75 million. In just 10 days the film has generated $128.9 million worldwide with $52.7 million from the overseas markets.
The Universal/DreamWorks co-production of Cowboys &amp; Aliens took the number one spot last weekend after a fierce battle against the tenacious Smurfs, but landed in third place with $15.7 million in this, its second weekend. Directed by Jon Favreau and boasting an impressive talent roster both in front of and behind the camera, the film will finish the weekend with around $67 million.
The sixth R-rated comedy to hit theaters this summer and the second starring the ubiquitous Jason Bateman, Universal’s The Change-Up co-starring Ryan Reynolds puts a new spin on an old twist with a debut gross of $13.5 million. From Freaky Friday to 17 Again and countless films in between, this time the formula gets the R-rated treatment and The Change-Up capitalized on solid date crowd appeal this weekend.
Fifth place played host to three potential contenders with Paramount’s Captain America: The First Avenger coming out on top with $13 million. Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and PG-13 rated comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. were close behind with $12.2 million and $12.1 million respectively.
Good news for the industry with a solid month of up-trending box office that puts the summer-to-date revenue advantage 4.39% ahead of last year and attendance up by just over 2%.
Specialized film spotlight: After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the critical favorite Bellflower (Dist. by Oscilloscope Films) had its theatrical debut this weekend on 2 screens and performed well with a solid $28,000 for the weekend (including many sold-out shows). The film was also a hit at SXSW back in March and has gotten rave reviews from every major news outlet with each praising its innovative storytelling, unique visual style and terrific performances from the up and coming cast. Be sure to check out Bellflower directed by Evan Glodell as it expands to over 500 theaters through August and into September. I spoke with one of the producers and stars of the film Vincent Grashaw this morning and he seemed thrilled with the results and is looking forward to the expanded release of the film in the coming weeks.
Weekend Box-Office
Top Movies - For Weekend of August 5, 2011 (estimates)
Movie Weekend Gross Total to Date
1 Rise of the Planet of the Apes (PG13) $54.0M $54.0M
2 The Smurfs (PG) $21.0M $76.2M
3 Cowboys &amp; Aliens (NR) $15.7M $67.4M
4 The Change-Up (R) $13.5M $13.5M
5 Captain America: The First Avenger (PG-13) $13.0M $143.2M

Executive produced superhero ensemble "The Avengers" and NBC series "Revolution"

Dropped out of Queens College; worked briefly as a maintenance worker

Appeared in dinner theaters in Chicago

Sold "Swingers" screen rights to director Doug Liman with provision that he and Vince Vaughn play leading roles

Directed "Jumanji" sequel "Zathura," based on book by Chris Van Allsburg

Summary

Actor, producer, writer and director Jon Favreau hit unlikely pay dirt when "Swingers" (1996), his low-budget, autobiographical indie about struggling young actors, turned he and co-star/real-life best friend Vince Vaughn into hot property, seemingly overnight. Favreau parlayed his rising profile into a number of supporting big-screen roles as cynical side men, but he was more anxious to get behind the camera and direct bigger features. After another indie buddy comedy with Vaughn - the underrated mob farce "Made" (2001) - Favreau went wide with the winning holiday hit "Elf" (2003), starring a spandex-clad Will Ferrell. His acclaimed adaptation of the kids book "Zathura: A Space Adventure" (2005) missed the mark with audiences, but his 2008 adaptation of Marvel Comics' "Iron Man" starring Robert Downey, Jr. was one of the most anticipated action films of the year, leading to a return to leading man status for Downey, Jr. and hard-won blockbuster credentials for its highly creative director.

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Charles Favreau

Father

Madeleine Favreau

Mother

Died of leukemia in 1978

Brighton Favreau

Daughter

Born Aug. 29, 2006; mother, Joya Tillem

Madelaine Favreau

Daughter

Born April 2003; mother, Joya Tillem

Max Favreau

Son

Born July 25, 2001; mother, Joya Tillem

Joya Tillem

Wife

Married Nov. 24, 2000 in Sonoma, CA

Education

Name

Queens College

ImprovOlympic

Bronx High School of Science

Notes

"I grew up half-Jewish, half-Italian. The Italian side has been mythologized with all those tough-guy movies. And then there's the Jewish side, which you're sort of embarrassed about. So I decided to take on the stereotype and write a movie about a Hasidic gunslinger. He's the baddest man in the West." – Favreau on the script for "The Marshal of Revelation" in The New York Times, Oct. 12, 1996